BMO Field Going Green

With the sale of midfielder Maurice Edu still in holding over a work permit, Toronto FC is trying to figure out what to do with that $5 million transfer fee. Apparently they are looking to go green, as in installing natural grass at BMO Field.

Mo Johnston, director of football for Toronto FC, said Tuesday he may try to use his club’s share of Edu’s US$5-million transfer fee to replace the FieldTurf at BMO Field with natural grass.

Most people have complained to the end over the FieldTurf at BMO Field but with the sale of Edu, the club looks to answer those complaints.

If the club was to replace the stadium turf, it would need to build a nearby practice facility with turf to meet commitments to the city of Toronto, which provided the stadium land in exchange in part for a year-round facility that could be used by local residents. In winter, a bubble is put over the field to allow that.

We all know that the club will receive a hefty allocation portion for the sale of Edu with part of the fee going to the league. But the rest actually goes to the club for operations and club programs such as youth programs.

Honestly this is great news, while I haven’t been against the turf as much as most people have I know this would be a great move for this club.

What do you make of this news? About time or do you think they were waiting for a sale of a player like Edu?

Tim

Great news…we've lost out on quality players (most recently Huckerby) because of this turf. Will be an amazing move for the team to have real grass.

TCompton

This is fantastic news and is probably the smartest investment any team in MLS has done with their sale money. It's nice to think that someone is actually thinking in MLS. I'm sure if Lalas were in charge, they'd be using their proceeds to try and attract more fans (something that is absolutely unnessary from TFC's point of view). I do wonder how long it would take them to install. They'd most likely still have to cover the grass in a bubble over the winter to make sure it'll grow.

Tim

Great news…we’ve lost out on quality players (most recently Huckerby) because of this turf. Will be an amazing move for the team to have real grass.

TCompton

This is fantastic news and is probably the smartest investment any team in MLS has done with their sale money. It’s nice to think that someone is actually thinking in MLS. I’m sure if Lalas were in charge, they’d be using their proceeds to try and attract more fans (something that is absolutely unnessary from TFC’s point of view). I do wonder how long it would take them to install. They’d most likely still have to cover the grass in a bubble over the winter to make sure it’ll grow.